


Nothing but a pleasant dream

by MaskoftheRay



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Justice League & Justice League Unlimited (Cartoons), Justice League - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Bittersweet, Bruce Wayne is a Good Friend, Emotional Baggage, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Loneliness, Melancholy, Slice of Life, space
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-02
Updated: 2020-08-02
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:53:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25659286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaskoftheRay/pseuds/MaskoftheRay
Summary: Once every so often, J’ohn locks himself away in the Watchtower’s Observatory. Batman doesn’t know why. Until, once day,he does.Bruce talks to J’ohn about what it means to grieve.
Relationships: J'onn J'onzz & Bruce Wayne, Justice League & Bruce Wayne, Justice League & J'ohn J'onzz
Comments: 4
Kudos: 103





	Nothing but a pleasant dream

**Author's Note:**

> “is a river you wade in until you get to the other side.  
> But I am here, stuck in the middle, water parting  
> around my ankles, moving downstream”  
> — from “Grief,” by Barbara Crooker

Everyone thinks that Batman dislikes the Martian Manhunter. They all believe that J’ohn’s telepathy is an instant and insurmountable barrier for him. To be fair, at first he was extremely skeptical of J’ohn J’onzz’ motives, his abilities. To be _forced_ to be open, read like a children’s book, was— is still— a terrifying concept to him; and not just tactically. To be vulnerable, to be known… those are things which Bruce is not good at, that Batman is not designed for. His colleagues remain colleagues-only (and not friends) for their safety— for _his_ — and it needs to stay that way.

J’ohn’s abilities pose a problem to that.

However, the Martian Manhunter proves himself to be trustworthy, kind, and very wise over the years after he joins the league. Even if they are not friends in the way that he and Kal El come to be, Batman respect the Martian. He admires his seriousness, calm competence, and genuinely enjoys the infrequent occasions that they have monitor duty together. So while the others assume, even now, that he does not like the Martian, Bruce knows differently.

While Batman ~~is~~ is supposed to be unfeeling, that does not mean that Bruce is unkind.

Of course, Bruce also notices the pattern. The nearly-ritualistic behavior. Of course he does. He’s been _trained_ to notice such things. But at first, he doesn’t know the reason _why_ the Martian— J’ohn— does what he does. And that matters. Despite what some people (Hal Jordan) liked to claim, Batman is not so inflexible as to be incapable of understanding that motives matter. Obviously impact does as well, but when he can, Bruce tries to take a person’s reasoning into account. J’ohn is not hurting anyone by quietly locking himself in the Observatory once every few months, and by this point, Bruce trusts him enough not to have sinister motives. Besides, it would be rather hypocritical of him to begrudge someone their ~~brooding~~ alone time.

So he stays out of it, even if he absently tracks the dates that the Martian Manhunter hides himself away in the Observatory on.

Only this year, things change. It strikes Bruce abruptly, and with some force, as he’s visiting his mother’s grave, that a possible reason for why J’ohn might visit the Observatory with regularity at several points during the year: grief. He is not overly close with J’ohn, it’s true, but he knows the basic details of his life. J’ohn had a family on Mars. He’d had a wife, and two daughters, in fact. And in the Observatory, if one knows where to look, they can see Mars. _Oh_ , Bruce thinks, surprised-but-not-really, _J’ohn locks himself away on anniversaries_.

Once he knows what he’s looking for, it becomes blatantly obvious that this is the motive behind the mysterious actions. Bruce feels like kicking himself for not realizing it sooner— _he_ , of all people, should understand how grief, even years after the loss, is a compelling force. How it bends a person to its will with more power than even Clark possess. Grief makes him predictable, as he is attracted to calming rituals with no more ability to resist than a magnet. J’ohn, clearly, also feels that pull.

And Bruce doesn’t know what it is to lose a spouse, but he understands perfectly what it is to lose a family, a child.

The automatic lock is not particularly difficult to hack, but Batman takes his time with it anyway; caution, when one is aboard a space-bound vessel without any special abilities to speak of, is always the best approach. Even when one helped design said space vessel themselves. He also knows that doing this slowly will alert J’ohn to his impending presence and give the Martian time to phase away if he does not want to speak to Bruce.

The doors open with a soft _hiss_ , and Batman strides through them.

The Observatory is dark, save for the low glow of the inset lights, and what natural illumination there is from the sun. As always, Bruce pauses momentarily, nearly shivering as he looks out into the black maw of space and sees the distant blue-green orb that is Earth. He swallows down his existential apprehension, and continues forward. As he stops beside J’ohn, who still doesn’t look at him, Bruce tells himself that the cold he’s feeling is nothing more than his own imagination. Still, he keeps a wary distance from the feet-thick, reinforced glass.

“Batman,” the Martian Manhunter greets, tone stiffer than usual.

“J’ohn.” Bruce swallows, unsure of how to proceed, as much as he’s certain that he wants to.

“You have something you wish to tell me,” J’ohn says, no hint of a question in his tone.

Bruce represses his moment of irritation, reminding himself that the Martian has most likely been picking up on his surface-level emotions, nothing more. “Whose anniversary is it?” he asks bluntly.

At this, J’ohn does turn. The Martian studies Bruce for a moment. He remains silent for longer. “Today is— was— my daughter K’hym’s birthday.”

Bruce nods, turning to observe the stars. _Nothing more beautiful, or more deadly than space_. He senses J’ohn’s curious gaze on him still, and the unasked, question behind it; Batman is not the league’s only member prone to long silences, or self-isolation. “I noticed that you come here regularly throughout the year, and I… well. I thought I might know why. After all, I do something similar,” he answers, with a pointed, self-deprecating smile.

“Your parents?” J’ohn asks.

Bruce nods, taking a moment to exhale deeply. “And my son, Jason— well, we got lucky with him, but he was still… _gone_ for several years. I visit my parents’ graves on anniversaries.” _I recognize you grief. I know what it’s like to feel an ache which lingers. I know what it is to feel as if a hole’s been punched through you. I know **loss**_.

J’ohn’s expression becomes slightly less guarded. “It is easy to forget that I am not alone. At times, I feel as if my life on Mars was nothing but a pleasant dream.”

“I understand. My memories of my parents are… distant at best— I was very young when I lost them. And it's been proven that every time you access a memory, you alter it. I sometimes question whether I truly remember anything at all…” he trails off with a huff. “Sorry. That wasn’t… very comforting.” _I’m not very good at these kinds of things_.

J’ohn doesn’t quite smile, but he does look somewhat amused. “Should I have expected different from you, Batman?”

Bruce inclines his head. “Perhaps not,” he admits lightly.

The Martian nods minutely, and turns away again; Bruce can recognize a dismissal when he sees one.

“I should get back to Gotham.”

He turns around, and takes several steps forward before J’ohn speaks again: “I never thanked you for trusting me, Batman. I know it must not have been… easy for you.”

Bruce pauses, turning slightly so that he can see J’ohn. “I never thanked you for yours either.”

J’ohn smiles. Bruce offers him a curt nod, and walks away.

**Author's Note:**

> Read the full version of “Grief” [here](https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/88766/grief-56e86db5ba0be).


End file.
